The fuel supply tank......

This post is a very boring continuation of the prior comments about a fuel weep. It is very boring indeed. A regular sleeping pill job. Go and watch TV unless you are a sadist then read on to enjoy the pain a little fuel weep caused us....

Well, after the heating had used up a fair bit of the remaining fuel in the supply tank, we ran the genset to do some washing and with the return diverted into a storage tank the sight glass became empty. Time to attack the weeping fitting, it could not be put off any longer.

The fitting is a big (M24 size) thing that screws into the tank. It is the gravity fuel supply line fed from the storage tanks via a manifold. As it is effectively a 24mm hole in the bottom of the supply tank, there is a valve fitted onto it with an emergency pull to turn off cable:

You can see the staining from the fitting where our nice red diesel had been weeping out (only tiny quantities though, just enough to dampen an absorbent pad underneath in a month!)

Draining the remaining fuel out was a hoot. The drain pipe has, naturally, to be in the sump at the bottom of the tank. That means you struggle to get a large container under it or enough "head of fuel" to use a pipe fitted to it to drain into a drum - cannot get one low enough. So, 40 litres of remaining fuel came out 350ml at a time via a little jug. Oh yes, amusing indeed, great way to spend an hour or so, in the company of the nice diesel aroma.

The fitting came apart and spun out of the tank relatively easily. There was lots of old sealant to clean out from the valve assembly:

You can just see the end of the little wire brush that helped in the above picture.

Then the real fun started. Dry assembling the parts revealed that the threads allowed the fitting to snug up against the tank about a quarter of a turn short of upright for the valve mechanism. No option but to fit it 3/4 of a turn loose! No wonder it was heavily sealed with some stuff that was failing. Some little Chinese guy in the factory really should not have been allowed to get away with that as you could feel the valve moving in the threads when fitted. Wonderful.

Options? Well, funnily enough, M24 washers are not something we have in stock, either plain or Dowty style. We could use those to try to fill the 3/4 turn gap so the valve doesnt have to just "hang" on the threads. The big hole in the tank meant no diesel for the genset , main engine or more importantly as it is the late autumn, the heating system!

We could wait to get some washers and live with electric heating from the shorepower (difficult and expensive). Alternatively we could fit the valve with lots of gloop again and get some washers to allow the valve to be better supported against the tank flange later on. Or we could fit the valve in the "quarter turn off upright" position with some normal pipe sealant as a temporary thing. That would mean the supply pipe would have to stay disconnected (wrong angle) and we would rely on the valve to stay properly sealed when turned off to prevent leakage. Also the emergency pull could not be connected but as there would be no feed pipe that isn't too significant!

The forecast was getting chillier and as we had some trips away planned, the best option was lots of gloop. So, we have a valve refitted with plenty of "Leak Lock" that will have to be spun out again when we can tinker around with washers to try and get it to snug up to the tank properly. Hardly a satisfying outcome from several hours of work and the heady aroma of diesel. Oh, the other drawback was that if things had been easier with no big gaps to fill, we could have used normal pipe sealant, which could be used pretty much straight away. Leak Lock needs to cure so no diesel heating that evening......

Duly rebuilt - paper towel and absorbent mat in place ready for the big switch on,  just in case:

Such is life, one step forward, one sideways. We don't have the weep from the tank anymore, only the Captain is weeping at the thought of doing it all again The good news is that the gloop worked and we have heating again.

So, we now know that you are a closet sadist.

Catching up on maintenance - always amusing

As we had been pretty busy since our arrival, the usual round of winter maintenance had been firmly on the back burner. So, we had to get going with it, unfortunately.

First on the list was trying to trace / stop an annoying little leak into the pilothouse headlining. We were pretty sure that it was as a result of the navigation equipment update earlier this year. All the cables run down into the pilothouse relying upon drip loops that the installers have to put in place and a healthy wodge of silicone around them. Very poor design indeed. To compound things, it is VERY hard to access properly too. You can see some of the cabling in this picture:

The drip loops and access into the pilothouse are hidden behind the exhaust.

So, we added yet more silicone, then a dose of the famous "Capt Tolley's creeping crack cure" on top of it once it had set in case any tiny gaps still existed. Since then we've had plenty of torrential "Welsh sunshine" and things have stayed dry. Fingers are crossed......

Also on the list was the stiff steering on the little RIB. We mentioned it before and whilst in Tarbert we cleared out old grease from the steering tube on the outboard itself and re-lubricated it. That helped but it was not right. So, the captain duly removed the steering cable once more and found that the cable itself was very very stiff. Time for a new one it seemed, so fun was had unwrapping the cable from the other pipes and wires, detaching it from the steering wheel assembly:

which of course has to be done blind as this is hidden away in the centre console and at an angle that prevents you from seeing anything unless you use a camera, as above.

The Teleflex cable type code was not in the best of condition:

and a direct replacement took a bit of tracking down. That bit was easy though, compared to refitting the new cable into the steering wheel and doing up the fastenings by feel whilst trying to hold the unit in place too. Grim job, laying over the tube with an arm at full stretch into the jockey console of the RIB but at least it is done and the steering is lighter than it has been for quite a while.

The next fun job is the weep from the fitting on the bottom of the diesel supply tank. The first step is using up the fuel in there so only a little remains to be drained off. Appropriate sealant and tools to clean up the threads have been procured. The heating is busy using the diesel. Another job awaits us....

Canine and culinary diversions

After the pleasures of the HUGE Nordhavn trip, things became a little more sedate for a while. Well, until our forecabin was invaded again by Anne who brought along Izzy the goddog for a long weekend. They soon settled in it seemed:

and before you ask, that dazed expression was present well in advance of any gin consumption.

Anne and the crew went off for (yet another) spa day whilst the captain walked, threw sticks for and generally entertained / was entertained by Izzy. Two very good lunches were enjoyed at the Pilot (mentioned in here before, well worth a visit for a great value lunch - see website) one with Steve the ex-waterbus man who had kept an eye on the boat whilst we were away canal cruising.

Izzy kind of enjoyed herself admiring everyone's food in the pub:

and a trip to Barrybados and the beach made her very happy but rather vocal:

So much so, that Anne was tempted to leave her in the clutches of a King Kong-alike:

As Anne departed, so did we, driving to Cornwall to see Norman, Julie and their new abode. Very nice it is too! A couple of West Country days were thoroughly enjoyed with plenty of attention for their Labradors:

and a surprise opportunity for puppy cuddles with the adorable Jackson - 9 weeks old and belonging to the proprietor of Relish, the rather good coffee shop in Wadebridge:

We were allowed to borrow him, amuse him and in Norman's case, have a little intimate relationship:

Julie then duly wound him up with some play and was, quite correctly then handed the over-excited pup to calm down:

Indie, our godpup (only she is now 3 years old) tried the "I am mega cute too" look:

Whilst in the area, we had the pleasure of attending the charity lunch at St Petrocs - a bistro with rooms operated by the vaguely famous Rick Stein. The charity lunches are wonderful value for such good food and all in a great cause too. Sometimes helping good causes is such hard work..... We are very glad that we did though.